History

Ginn Woods is comprised of three parcels of land. The largest of these parcels has been known as Ginn Woods for a long time. Since the original settlement of the area by people of European descent, only one family had owned this parcel of land. It appears that the owners never grazed livestock or burned the understory in this area, nor was any significant logging done during the half century before acquisition by Ball State University in 1971.

Nixon Woods is a 40-acre area of old-growth forest, contiguous with the south boundary of the original Ginn Woods. No record of post settlement land use has been found for Nixon Woods. However, in the 1977 proposal to purchase this tract, it was noted to have mature trees and little evidence of human disturbance. The evidence of fencing around Nixon Woods, which is absent from the rest of the Ginn Woods complex, suggests that Nixon Woods may have been grazed at some time.

The third and final tract is the Wesley Addition or Wesley Wetland. This is a 10 acre former agricultural field contiguous with the southwest corner of the original Ginn Woods area. This poorly drained, low-lying area was allowed to undergo natural succession and is returning to woody plant dominated community.